Fact Sheet: White House Task Force on High-Tech Patent Issues  —  Today the White House announced major steps to improve incentives for future innovation in high tech patents, a key driver of economic growth and good paying American jobs.  The White House issued five executive actions …

Outlook 2013 RT Coming to Windows RT Tablets as part of Windows 8.1 Update  —  Today at Computex 2013, Tami Reller, CFO and CMO of Microsoft's Windows Division, announced that Outlook 2013 RT will be available on Windows RT tablets as part of the free Windows 8.1 update coming later this year.

Amazon plans big expansion of online grocery business: sources  —  (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc is planning a major roll-out of an online grocery business that it has been quietly developing for years, targeting one of the largest retail sectors yet to be upended by e-commerce, according to two people familiar with the situation.

Bloomberg Launches Bloomberg Beta, A $75 Million Early-Stage Investment Fund Led By Former IGN Exec Roy Bahat  —  Media company Bloomberg is launching its own venture capital fund, called Bloomberg Beta today.  With the fund, the company is putting aside $75 million to invest in early-stage startups.

Intel's ‘Thunderbolt 2’ official, coming later this year  —  Intel's next Thunderbolt technology — hitherto known by the code name Falcon Ridge — now has an official moniker.  The tech is slated to be built into future Intel chipsets.  —  Intel has officially dubbed the next version of its high-speed port “Thunderbolt 2.”

Sony unveils Haswell-based Vaio laptops that can be converted into tablets  —  Sony is unveiling a new line of Vaio Pro and Vaio Duo laptops with new Intel Haswell-based microprocessors.  —  Sony Duo 13  —  The Vaio Pro is a touch-enabled Ultrabook laptop that runs Windows 8.

Steve Ballmer Treks To Hollywood To Tout Xbox One To TV Moguls And Agents  —  EXCLUSIVE 10 AM... UPDATEd 12:30 PM : Deadline has learned the meetings were an intimate preview of the new Xbox One capabilities before next week's E3 confab where secretive Microsoft will unveil details of the device's technology.

The Problems with CALEA-II  —  The FBI wants a new law that will make it easier to wiretap the Internet.  Although its claim is that the new law will only maintain the status quo, it's really much worse than that.  This law will result in less-secure Internet products and create a foreign industry in more-secure alternatives.

comScore: Apple increases lead as top US smartphone maker, Samsung gains; Android down fourth month in a row  —  In the US, Apple's dominance as the top smartphone OEM during the first quarter of 2013 has spilled over into April.  Samsung is gaining as well, but not quite as quickly.

Google Glass photo update brings HDR, better low-light shots and captions  —  At Google I/O, the Glass team promised monthly updates for the head-mounted computer.  Today, a new version of the software (XE6) is being shipped out to the few who have them so far and it contains a bunch of updates that center on images.

Samsung Galaxy S4 Active offers a more rugged, waterproof variant of Android bestseller  —  Today, Samsung is announcing a new variant of its Galaxy S4 more suited to the great outdoors.  The phone has a high degree of dust and water protection (IP67), allowing it to be submerged in water up to a meter …

Intel to Invest $100 Million in Voice, Gesture Technologies  —  TAIPEI—Intel Capital, the global investment arm of chipmaker Intel Corp., is setting up a $100 million fund to invest in “perceptual” computing technologies like voice and gesture control, company executives said.

Espionage malware infects raft of governments, industries around the world  —  Security researchers have blown the whistle on a computer-espionage campaign that over the past eight years has successfully compromised more than 350 high-profile targets in 40 countries.

Amazon Earned Over $600 Million in Ad Revenue Last Year  —  Analysis of figures from many research sources suggests Amazon's WW ad revenues will top $835 million this year  —  Amazon has ramped up its advertising strategy in recent years, and the site is reaping the benefits.

New Government Documents Show the Sean Parker Wedding Is the Perfect Parable for Silicon Valley Excess  —  Nothing says, “I love the Earth!” quite like bringing bulldozers into an old-growth forest to create a fake ruined castle.  —  Hey, if a billionaire couple wants to spend $10 million on their wedding …

Sprint Vital leaks out: 5-inch HD display, 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 13MP camera, Android 4.1 (video)  —  Looks like Sprint really is prepping a 5-inch Android flagship of its own: the Vital.  Thanks to an anonymous source, Engadget's received a motherlode of details on the upcoming …

Amazon establishes online marketplace in India  —  BANGALORE: Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, has launched an online marketplace in India, Amazon.in, where third-party sellers can list their products and sell directly to customers.  India represents Amazon's tenth marketplace …

Internet Surveillance and Free Speech: the United Nations Makes the Connection  —  Frank La Rue, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion delivered this week a landmark report [PDF] on state surveillance and freedom of expression.

Australia's de-facto Internet filter may block 250k sites  —  Baldrick's cunning plan turns into live grenade  —  The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), has told a hearing of the Australian Parliament's Senate Estimates committee that its attempt to block access …